Gleipnir: Season 1 Episode 12 “Where the Promise was Made” – Recap/ Review with Spoilers
Shuichi’s past, as well as Elena’s and their friends, is revealed – thus answering a handful of questions.
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Shuichi’s past, as well as Elena’s and their friends, is revealed – thus answering a handful of questions.
| Director(s) | Yoneda Kazuhiro |
| Writer(s) | Inotsume Shin`ichi |
| Aired (Funimation) | 6/21/2020 |
| Trigger Warning(s) | Suicide |
| Introduced This Episode | |
| Aiko | TBD |
| Kaito | TBD |
| Naoto | TBD |
| Honoka | TBD |
This content contains pertinent spoilers.
Recap
The Original Team – Shuichi, Elena, Aiko, Kaito, Naoto, Honoka
Those missing memories of Yamada Cram school? It isn’t just Isao who was erased. For Shuichi, Elena and many others were wiped out. That included Aiko, a spirited young woman who had a strong sense of justice, Honoka, a quiet girl, often seen twirling her hair, Kaito, who we met in the last episode, and Naoto.
From what we can tell, Naoto is the one we see in the hood, who is part of Elena’s current group of coin hunters. As for Honoka and Aiko? Well, let’s talk about that sad story.
The Forgotten – Kaito, Honoka, Aiko, Naoto
Being that Aiko is someone who loved to fight for the little guy, it drew the ire of bullies. So, rather than pick on them, Aiko received the harassment, and despite the spirit she conveyed, she eventually succumbs to the bullying and kills herself. This was a major loss for the group, but it wasn’t really revealed until Honoka took over her person.
You see, Honoka’s dad murdered someone, and his crime led to Honoka also being punished and ostracized. Making it so she valued her life less and then with Aiko killing herself, she took the opportunity to go from someone hated to beloved. Also, taking note only she knew Aiko killed herself, and Honoka had a crush on Naoto, Aiko’s boyfriend, it meant having all Honoka could never before.
But, the problem of assuming Aiko’s identity is that Kaito had a crush on Honoka, and in her assuming the role of Aiko, it is assumed she killed Aiko to take her identity. An idea most of the group seems fine with, in Kaito’s mind, so he decides to kill Honoka.
However, the truth is, if they didn’t figure Hanako did this, they knew. Which Naoto confirms and once he has all the information, something snaps in Kaito. Likely leading to him becoming the persona we met in the last episode.
What Happens When You See A Ghost – Shuichi, Elena, Yoshioka, Clair, Honoka
That isn’t the end of Honoka’s story, so it seems. In fact, her story might be why Shuichi lost his memory. For a long time, it was assumed Elena did something to either keep him from guilt or to punish herself. In actuality, it seems the ghost of Honoka wipes people’s memories if they don’t know or say her name, and it seems Shuichi was one of her victims.
Now, while Elena is aware of this ghost story, it isn’t clear if she knows that happened to Shuichi and whether she thought he’d be better off not knowing. All that does become clear is Clair is a bit closer to the truth, and Yoshioka can’t let go what she knows. Leaving you to wonder, considering Elena seems to have all her memories, and the memory wipe was only months ago, what happened?
What happened in terms of the aftermath of Shuichi forgetting everyone? When did Elena and Naoto form a team to get more coins? Kaito deciding to block people from the spaceship, when did that start, and is it because, with him possibly collecting 100 coins, he has brought some form of Honoka back to life?
We have so many questions…
Things To Note | Question(s) Left Unanswered
- Considering how close Elena and Shuichi were, did Clair know him well before his memory was wiped? Assumingly, with Elena knowing Shuichi since they were kids, Shuichi had to have met Elena’s kid sister, right?
Review
Highlights
Finally Getting Shuichi’s Backstory
Shuichi’s backstory has been asked about for ages, and I’d say it delivers. In fact, it reminds us why the writing, early on, hooked us. For, towards the middle, as much as it tried to build up Madoka and the band of misfits Clair and Shuichi joined, they didn’t really hook you. It wasn’t like Clair and Shuichi’s weird relationship or even the partly forgotten Hikawa. It was quantity over quality.
This isn’t the case for Shuichi’s friends. Granted, we’ve known Elena for a long time, and she has been touted as a villain of sorts. However, when did she and Shuichi split, Isao adding to their story and making it seem something was majorly wrong, it led to so many questions.
Of which, not all were answered, but more than enough to make you hyped for the finale. One which is probably going to suck a bit, since anime don’t often get multiple seasons, especially without multi-year gaps. But we do have our fingers crossed it will be a memorable end.
Overall
Trajectory – Excelling
In the beginning, “Gleipnir” would bounce back and forth between an episode focused on fighting and then one on character development. It sort of ended that towards the middle, but the formula has recently returned. Which we’re thankful for since now, with knowing Shuichi’s past, it makes you even more invested in his future, despite it likely being on a downturn.
